Curse
The Nine Maidens
They were maidens once, the moor folk say.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Ring of granite stones on open moor
- Legend from
- 19th-century record
- Tone
- Curious
Nine girls on the moor, they say, and not one of them ever came home.
Boskednan stone circle, traditionally called the Nine Maidens, stands on open moorland north of the Madron to Morvah road, reachable only on foot. Only some of its granite stones still stand, and some are fallen or half buried. Robert Hunt, writing of the many 'Nine Maids' circles of Cornwall, says the same story clings to all of them: the stones are maidens turned to stone. He names Boskednan among the western circles where this tale is told. The circle is less than a kilometre from Mên-an-Tol, so both can be seen on one moorland walk.